Automatic feeding device



Aug. 4, 1931.

L. J. SAUER AUTOMATIC FEEDING DEVICE Filed March 1, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheetl Zwemon Law's J Sauezj 32 XM W Wflorngya,

Aug. 4, 1931. Y L. J. SAUER AUTOMATIC FEEDING DEVICE Filed March 1, 19304 Sheets-Sheet 2 $721627 for.- Lmzzls cf 15 67116}? Aug. 4, 193.1. .1.SAUER AUTOMATIC FEEDING DEVICE Filed March 1, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 W,M qqflw Wiforn eys.

Aug. 4, 1931. L. J. SA'UER AUTOMATIC FEEDING DEVICE Filed March 1, 19304 Sheets-Sheet 4 ,fiwenfa Law's cfiaaan Zz W Ma 'flfl'orne a,

Patented Aug. 4, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOUIS J. SAUER, F OAKPARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES H. JOY, SK, OF

CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS AUTOMATIC FEEDING DEVICE Application filed March 1, 1930.Serial No. 432,442.

My invention relates to automatic feeding devices for duplicatingmachines with especial reference to that class of machines provided witha fiat gelatinized printing surface over which a carriage having asuitable platen roller is arranged to travel.

My invention is particularly adapted for use in connection with machinessimilar to that shown and described in my co-pending application, SerialNo. 349,87 6, in which the paper or suitable cards are inserted in thecarriage and the platen roller impresses the original or the copy sheeton the gelatinized printing surface which receives the impression fromthe original sheet and transfers it to the copy sheet.

In positioning the original or copy sheets on the gelatinized surface,it is necessary that the paper be accurately aligned with relation 1 tothe platen roller and the printing surface,

and that the sheets be fed to the surface and under the platen roller insuch a manner that a suitable margin will result. It is also desirablethat suitable adjustable means be provided to vary the width of themargin within reasonable limits.

In my invention I have provided a convenient means for accomplishing thedesired re sults and it has for one of its objects the provision of anautomatically controlled paper stop bar and paper feeding device, theoperation of which is automatically controlled relative to thedirectional movement of the carriage and carriage handle.

Another object is the provision of an automatic paper feeding devicecontrolled by the operator through the normal lost motion movement ofthe carriage handle.

A further object is the provisionof means automatically controlling asuitable paper guideto guide the paper into printing position on theprinting bed during the printing movement of the carriage, and toautomatically guide the paper from the printing bed during the reversemovement.

Another object is to provide a completely automatic margin controllingpaper feed, and a suitable paper stop and paper guide coopera-tingtherewith, all incorporated in the carriage of a duplicating machine andauto matically operable by the single means operating the carriage.

A further object is to provide an adjustable means for varying the widthof the margin.

Another object is the provision of suitable means for releasing thefeeding means upon movement of the carriage.

It is also an object to provide means whereby the paper feed mechanismis operated be fore the movement of the carriage.

A further object is the provision of means operable with the carriagefor moistening the gelatinized surface of the printing bed.

Another object is the provision of an automatic feeding devicecontrolled by the same directional movement of the handle controllingthe carriage.

Further objects will appear from the detailed description to follow andfrom the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevation of the carriage and cooperating parts of aduplicating machine embodying my invention, portions being broken awayto better illustrate the construction Fig. 2 is a perspective view of aportion of the carriage supporting bar and one of the carriage stops;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the carriage,

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view, taken on a line correspondingsubstantially to the line 4l4 of Fig. 3 and illustrating the platensupporting latch, and platen raising means;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the carriage and taken on a linesubstantially corresponding to line 5-5 of Fig. 3, the platen rollerbeing removed;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional View of the platen bearing, taken on line66 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view, taken on a line correspondng to line7--7 of Fig. 1 and illustrates the driving means and the bearing for thepaper feed roller;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view through the moistening device andtaken on a line corresponding to line 88 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 9 is a detail elevation of the operating mechanism for the feed.l'Oller and paper stop;

Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 1010 of Fig. 1 andillustrates the construction of the carriage supporting rollers;

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic sectional view through the platenandfeedrollers and illustrates the method of feeding the paper under theplaten roller to obtain a desired margin;

Fig. 12 illustrates a modified form of the paper feeding-device.-

Referring now to the drawings iii-detail, the embodiment shown comprisesside frame members 1, on which is support'eda printing bed 2, having agelatinized. printing surface 3 (Fig. 5). The gelatinized surfaceusually comprises-a band or ribbon which is- Wound on spools mounted ateach end of the machine. The-spools are not shown as they formno part ofthe present invention. The band is stretched over; theprinting i bed andmay be wound from one spool to the other to provide a new and unusedprinting surface. 7

A carriage supporting bracket 5 is mounti ed for longitudinal movementon a guide bar 6, by means of grooved rollers 7 and 8, the rollers 7.resting on the topof the bar 6 and the roller 8 being belowthe bar. Thebar 6v issecured to the side frame 1 in longitudiae nal relation to theprinting bed, and is a close working fit. in the roller grooves 9. (Fig10). This arrangement prevents lateral movement of the bracket andallows free longitudinalmovement. The carriage, in the aa present deviceis hinged on the bracketj5 and comprises 'a rectangular frame includingsheet metal side bars 10:and,11, which are secured together by afrontjendplate 12 and a rear end plate 13. The carriage is hinged Mr-tothe bracket 5 by means of'outwardly extending lugs 14 and 15 which arein alignmentwith similar inturned lugs 16 and-17, respectively, on the.bracket,.and are hinged thereto by means of the hollow bushings 18secured by the nuts 19. Aremovable platen roller .20 is longitudinallymounted in the carriage and adjacent the printing surface. One endof.theplaten roller shaft 21 is rotatably mounted. in aball bearing. 22,the 50- latter beingsupportedlina movable plate 23 whichis pivoted. at2:4 to thecar-riage endplate 12... 1 i i The movable plate 23. arm 25.normally. resting on" the rotatable shaft 26;, which shaft islongitudinally mounted for oscillation in the carriage cnd'plates andwhich is providedwitl a pin 27 engaging the pin 28 on the; movableplate. 23. The

plate 23' is normally held in,thepositimrv shown inEig ti by a spring29L It;.will-be ear, lQl r. the drawings, that, if. the; shaft- 26isrotated in a clockwise direction the hearing, will be; raised to.raeiSetheplaten roller from theprinting surface is provided with an.

The opposite end of the platen roller is sup;

ported in a slot 30 in a movable bearing plate 31, pivoted at 32 on thecarriage end plate 13. The latch 33 is pivoted on the plate at 34 andarranged to engage the roller shaft 21 and support it in the bearingslot 30. The bearing plate 31 is similar to the opposite bearing plate23 and isalso provided with an arm 35 resting on the shaft26 and normally held in that position by a spring 36. A pin 37 on the shaft- 26,engagesa pin 33 on-the' plate 31, the latter being raised when theshaft- 26 is rotated. By this arrangement of bearing plates andoperating mechanism bothrof the bearings are raised simultaneously whenthe shaft 26 is rotated. The shaft may berotated to raise the platenroller at any time, by means ofa finger lever 39 pivoted at 40 onthecarriage handle lever 41 on which latter is mounted a suitable handle42. The handle lever is pivoted on a rod 43, which also acts as a guidefor a slotted link 44 connected to the linger lever 39. A pin 45 on thelink engages a pin 46 on the shaft 26. Thehandle lever is pivoted forlost motion relative to the carriage, for reasons to be later described,and it is obvious that the finger-lever 39 and cooperating platenraising mechanisinmay be efiectively operated,

withthe handle in any lost motion position. It. will also be clear thatwith the construc tion just described the platen roller is free toadjust itself to any inequalities in the printing surface. s V

The ball bearing 22 comprises a stub shaft 47 mounted in bushings 48 and49 which are in turn secured to the movable plate 23. The slot 50 in theend plate 12 allows free movementof the bearing. A drive pulley 51 is.

secured. to the stubrshaft by a screw 52. A tongue portion 53, ontheplaten roller shaft is removably engaged in a slot-'54 in the. stubshaft.

A roller 55 on the carriage end plate 13 engages the side'frame 1 andsupports the.

carriage thereon, and when the carriage is raised the platen rollermay-be easilyre noved by releasing the latch 33 from engagement with theshaft 21. The latch is normally held in engagedposition by aspring 56.

The driving spool or pulley 51 is rotated in the usual manner by meansof a single turn of a. cable 53, the cable being secured to the sideframes 1 (Fig. 1). The lower edge of the platen. driving roller 51 isalways in alignment with the axial line ofthe hinges and the cable 53extends throughthe hollow bushings 18. By this constructionthe cable isalways in alignment with the bushings, even when the carriage is raised.A- paper table 56 is mounted on thecarriage side bar 11 at asuitableangle andarrangedto guide the paper under the platen roller, where itwill be pressed against the gelatinized sur-' face of the printingbedand receive-the impression. As previously mentioned, the carriage handleis pivoted for a lost motion movement, so that when the carriage ismoved toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, the handle takes theposition shown in full lines,

and when it is moved to the right, takes a under the platen roller fromthe paper table in such a manner that a suitable margin wil be obtained,1 provide a suitable paper stop and paper feeding device which comprisesa feed roller 57 mounted in suitable bearings in the carriage end platesand extending adjacent to and in alignment with the lower edge of thepaper table 56. The feed roller is preferably rubber covered. A shaft 58is oscillatably mounted above the paper table and in suitable bearingsin the end plates and provided with arms 59 rigidly secured thereto andsupporting a rotatably mounted pr sure roller 60 in longitudinalrelation to the feed roller.

A spring 6060 tends to normally press the roller 60 against the feedroller 57, and it will be noted that by oscillating the shaft 58 thepressure roller 60 will be pressed against or raised away from the feedroller 57. A paper stop bar 61, preferably of sheet metal, is looselymounted on the shaft 58 and provided'with a depending portion 62 forengaging and retaining the paper on the paper table when the feed andpressure rollers are '1 separated. When the carriage handle 4-2 is inthe full line position shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the feed and pressurerollers will be separated, as shown, to allow the paper to be in sortedand rest against the depending portion of the paper stop. The pressureroller is raised and held in the raised position by a pin 63 on theshaft, which is engaged by a lug 64 on a slidable plate 65, the plate 65being guided and supported on the end plate I 12 by means of a pin 67 ina slot 68, the lower part of the plate resting on an inwardly extendingguide portion 69 of the end plate. The slidable plate 65 is held in theposition indicated in Figs. 1 and 5 by means of a pawl I link 70, whichis pivoted at 71, on the handle tions of the parts as shown in Figs. 1and 9 that when the handle is pushes forward the plate 65 will also bemoved and the lug 6% will release the pin 63 on the shaft 58, allow ingthe spring 600 (Fig. l) to rotate the shaft and engage the paper betweenthe pressure and feed rollers. At the same time, the cam surface on theplate 65, which surface is engaged by the outwardly extending lug 7 6 onthe paper stop bar 61, will cause the stop bar to be raised to theposition shown in Fig.

9 to allow the feed roller to feed the paper beneath the platen roller.

During the lost motion movement of the handle the feed roller isoperated by means of rack 78 which is guided in the angularly disposedslot in the end plate 12. T he rack is arranged to engage a pinion 79 onthe gear 80, which is mounted on the end plate 12 and which in turnengages the pinion shaft 81 of the feed roller and which is mounted inthe bearing 82 (Fig. 7), the bearing being cut away at 88 to providesuitable clearance for the gear. The rack is provided with a pinengaging in a slot 85 in the pawl link 70, thus providing a lost motionbetween the pawl link and the rack. \Vhen the handle is moved forward.the plate 65 will only be moved a distance suflicient to release thepressure roller and raise the paper stop bar as previously described.The upwardly eX tending latch portion 72 of the pawl link willsimultaneously be released from the notch 73, the release beingaccomplished by the downward angular movement of the pawl link, causedby the lost motion of the rack pin 8-l in the angular slot 85. The platewill then remain stationary while the handle is moved forward until apin 86, which is secured to the handle lever and extends through theslot 87 in the end plate, engages an adjustable stop member 88 havingsteps 88a. During this continued movement the feed rollers will beoperated to feed the paper to the platen roller.

The stop member 88 is made adjustable by means of a screw 89 in slot 90,and is for the purpose of limiting the lost motion movement of thehandle, and thereby limiting the distance that the paper will be fedtoward the platen roller. When the adjustable stop is in its lowermostposition the steps 91 will not be engaged by the pin 86 and the completemovement of the handle will be utilized to feed the paper to provide thewidest obtainable margin. As the adjustable stop is raised the varioussteps will be engaged by the pin 86 and the paper will be fed a distancecorresponding to the step engaged.

Fig. 11 illustrates the position of the platen roller, relative to thefront edge of the print ing surface, when the feed roller is operated.hen the carriage is at the extreme end of the forward movement, theplaten roller will be slightly beyond the front edge of they printingsurface leaving an opening through which the paper will feed to providethe desired margin corresponding to the lost mo tion of the handle. Thepaper will be engaged immediately upon the forward movement of thecarriage.

The feed roller is of such diameter that the adjustment of the stop toprovide the shortest lost motion of the handle will allow the feedroller to revolve sufficiently to provide the least margin and furtheradjustment of the stop will allow the paper to be fed a greater distanceto provide a greater margin. In order to release the paper from the feedrollerso that it may be engaged by the platen *;roller when the carriagestarts its forward movement, I provide an arm 92 secured to a rod 93,which latter is pivotally mounted in the carriage end plates. A roller94 on the lever rests on the side frame 1, the front porition of whichis cut away at 95. As soon as the handle has reached the forwardposition to move the carriage, the roller 94: will be raised by theshoulder 96 on the side frame and the upwardly extending arm 97 of thelever will engage the pressure roller supporting arm 59, and thepressure roller will be raised and the paper released.

As previously described, the platen roller may be raised with thecarriage at any position over the printing surface by this means, and byoperating the handle through its lostmotion, paper may be fed under theplaten roller to any desired position on the printing surface.

In order to guide the paper under the platen roller a curved paper guide98 is pivoted on the frame end plates at 99 and extends parallel withthe roller. This paper guide is connected to the movable plate 65 by alink l00so that when the device is in the paper feeding position, theguide will be lowered to the dotted line position, shown in Fig. 9,

to guide the paper under the platen roller, A and when the handle is inthe position shown in Fig. 5 and the feed rollers are separated,

during the return movement of the carriage, the paper guide will beraised to the position shown in Fig. 5 and the paper will be removedfrom the printing bed and guided to 495 an easily accessible positionbetween the margin bar and the platen roller where it may be removedfrom the machine.

Carriage stops 101 are adjustably mounted on the carriage guide bar(land are secured in adjusted position by the thumbscrews 102.

These stops cooperate with rubber bumpers 103 secured to the bracket 5,and limit the movement of the carriage to correspond to the length ofthe paper used.

It is desirable, at times, to moisten the printing surface with eachmovement of the carriage. For this purpose I provide a tank 104 (Fig. 8)for containing water or other suitable fluid, a wick 105 extends throughthe wall of the tank and contacts with a felt covered roller 106 whichis pivoted to suitable arms 107, the latter being secured to the shaft108 mounted in suitable bearings on the carriage. By this means moisturemay be supplied to the surface as desired. vVhen moisture is not neededthe roller may be left in the raised position shown by dotted lines. Inthe modified form shown in Fig. 12' the handle lever 11 is pivoted at109, and the feed ing is accomplished by the downwardly exmally held infeeding positionby the spring 114 and is raised at each end of the lostmotion movement of the handle by the cams 115 and 116 engaging the pin117. The feeding member 110 is preferably rubber covered as shown toprovide a better gripping surface.

In operation, with the carriage in its extreme forward position, papermay be inserted to rest against the paper stop and the handle will bemoved to push the carriage rearwardly. During the lost motion of thehandle and before the carriage starts, the pressure roller will belowered to grip the paper between the rollers, the paper step will beraised, the paper guide will be lowered, and the paper will be fed underthe platen roller. The carriage will then start its forward movement andthe pressure roller will simultaneously be raised to releasethe paperand allow it to be pressured against the printing surface by the platenroller.

Upon the return movement of the handle the lug 72 on the pawl link 7 0will again en gage in the slot 7 3 to return the plate to its originalposition, and the paper guide will raise to remove the paper, the paperstop will simultaneously be lowered, and the carriage moved to theoriginal forward position, from which the operations maybe repeated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent 1s:

1. A duplicator comprising a bed having a printing surface, a carriagebracket arranged for longitudinal movement relative to said bed, acarriagehingedto said bracket for movement therewith and for pivotalmovement relative thereto, a platen roller on said carriage, and adriving means for said roller extending thru and substantially on theaxial line of said hinge.

2. In a duplicating machine, acarriage mounted to travel over a printingbed and having a platen roller cooperative with said bed, a handle foroperatingthe carriage and having a lost motion relative thereto, amargin cont-rolling paper-feeding means, and an adjustable means forlimiting the lost motion to vary the margin.

3. In a duplicating machine, a carriage mounted to travel over aprinting bed and supporting a platen roller cooperative with said bed, ahandle for operating said carriage and having a lost motion relativethereto, a margin controlling paper-feeding means, and an adjustablemeans for limiting said lost motion to control the paper-feeding means.

4. In a duplicating machine, a carriage mounted to travel over aprinting bed and having a platen roller cooperative with said handle.

5. In a duplicating machine, a carriage mounted to travel over aprinting bed and having a platen roller cooperative therewith, a handlefor operating said carriage and hav ing a lost motion relative theretoin the direction of carriage travel, and a margin controllingpaper-feeding means completely operable by the lost motion movement ofsaid handle, and means for limiting the lost motion to vary the margin.7 6. In a duplicating machine, a carriage mounted to travel over aprinting bed and having a platen roller cooperative therewith, means foroperating said carriage, means for feeding paper under said platenroller, and transmission means between said carriage operating means andsaid feeding means for operating said feeding means independent of saidcarriage.

7. In a duplicating machine, a carriage mounted to travel over aprinting bed and having a platen roller cooperative therewith, means foroperating said carriage, means for feeding paper under said platenroller, transmission means between said carriage operating means andsaid feeding means for operating said feeding means independent of saidcarriage travel, and means for raising said platen roller to allow thepaper to be fed thereunder.

8. In a duplicating machine, a carriage mounted to travel over aprinting bed and having a platen roller cooperative therewith, a papertable, a movable paper stopmeans, a paper feeding means, a movable paperguide means for guiding the paper to and from said platen roller, and asingle carriage operating handle for operating all of said meansprevious to the operation of the carriage.

9. In a duplicating machine, a carriage mounted to travel over aprinting bed and having a platen roller cooperative therewith, a papertable, a movable paper stop, a paper feeding means, a single means foroperating said paper stop and said paper feeding means, and means forlimiting the paper feeding operation independent of the paper stop.

10. In a duplicating machine, a carriage mounted to travel over aprinting bed and having a platen roller cooperative therewith, a papertable, a movable paper stop, a paper feeding means comprising a feedroller and a pressure roller, said paper stop and said pressure rollerbeing simultaneously operable to alternately engage the paper, acarriage op-v erating means and means cooperating with said carriageoperating means to operate all of said paper controlling means.

11. In a duplicating machine, a carriage mounted to travel over aprinting bed, a paper table on said carriage, a paper feeding meanscomprising a movable paper stop and a pressure roller, a carriageoperating means, means cooperating with said carriage operating meansfor simultaneously operating said paper stop and said pressure roller toalternately engage the paper, and means independent of said last namedoperating means for releasing said pressure roller upon movement of saidcarriage.

12. In a duplicating machine, a carriage mounted to travel over aprinting bed, a paper table on said carriage, a paper feeding meanscomprising a movable paper stop and a pressure roller, a carriageoperating handle having a lost motion in the direction of the carriagemovement, means cooperating with said handle for operating the feedingmeans during the lost motion movement of said handle, and means forfreeing the paper from the feeding means during the movement of thecarriage.

13. In a duplicatin machine, a printing bed having a gelatinizedsurface, a carriage mounted to travel over said surface, means on saidcarriage for moistening said surface comprising a container for fluid, afluid-di.s tributing roller engaging said surface, a wick for deliveringfluid from said container to said roller, and means for removing saidroller from engagement with said surface.

14. A duplicating machine comprising a printing surface, a guideextending along the side of said printing surface, a bracket mounted forlongitudinal movement on said guide and non-rotatable with respectthereto, a carriage pivotally mounted on said bracket to swing towardand from the printing surface about an axis substantially parallel tosaid guide. a platen roller mounted on said carriage IOI' applying paperto the printing surface, a drum for driving said platen roller, and aflexible member passing around said drum for driving it, the axis aboutwhich the carriage swings being substantially tangential to theperiphery of the drum.

15. A duplicating machine comprising a printing surface, a guideextending along the side of said printing surface, a bracket mounted forlongitudinal movement on said guide and non-rotatable with respectthereto, a carriage pivotally mounted on said bracket to swing towardand from the printing surface about an axis substantially parallel tosaid guide, a platen roller mounted on said carriage for applying paperto the printing surface, a drum for driving said platen roller, and aflexible member passing around said drum for driving it, the ends ofsaid flexible member being secured at points lying substantially in theaxis about which the carriage swings.

16. A duplicating machine comprising a printing surface, a guideextending along the 4 :side of; said printing surface,-.a bracketmountredforlongitudinal movement-0n said guide and nonrrotatablewithrespect thereto, a car- 7 'ri-age pivot-ally -mounted on said bracket to1 sWii toward and froni the rintin surf-ace about an axis substantiallyparallel t0 said .guide, a platen roller'mountjed on saidcarriagefor-applyingpaperato the printing sur- 'face a drum for drivingsaidplaten roller,

1 0 and a flexible -member passing aro undysaid drum for driving it, theaxis about which the ,carriage swingsleeing substantially tangential tothe periphery of the drum, and the ;.end s-.0f.said flexible memberbeingsecured at 1 .peints lying substantiallyin said axis.

In witness whereof, I'have hereunto subscribed my name.

LOUIS J. SAUER.

CERTIFICATE ()F GORREGTiON.

Patent No. 1,817,103. Granted August 4., 1931, to

LOUIS J. SAUER.

it is hereby certiiied that ermr agspears in the printed specificationof the abnve numbered patent requiring cetreeti-on as teilews: Page 5,line 24, claim 6, after "carriage" and before the netted insert the wardtrav-ei; and that the said Letters Patent sheuid be read with thiscorrection therein that the same may conform to the record of the casein the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 22nd day of September, A. D. 1931.

v M. J. Moore, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

